Tuesday, April 30, 2013

My friend Carol's birthday celebration was last night at Rose's house. Everyone brought a salad. I love an excuse to buy the big Del Monte fruit salads from Costco. They are ordinarily too big for us.

After cutting the huge chunks into smaller pieces, and adding some blueberries that I had on hand, I thought I might make a salad dressing.

After googling fruit salad dressings, I found a site with recipes and comments about cream based dressings, honey based dressings, orange juice based dressings, mayonnaise based dressings and combinations of the above.

Then, I read the forceful comments of someone who hates all fruit salad dressings. Really, really, really hates them. I don't like them either.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Going to the big national quilt show in Paducah, Kentucky so I'm thinking about Costco and crafts.

Several years ago I bought craft scissors, hole punches in cute shapes (which were really fun with my three year old granddaughter) and other scrapbooking supplies at Costco. But those are no longer sold. Buy it when you see it!

Craft supplies are at least two places - mixed in with books and mixed in with office supplies

Right now, my Costco has a duck tape craft kit in office supplies - four rolls of patterned duct tape with an instruction book.

This looks like something that would be fun for someone, but probably not me.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

These Banana Dippers are a new product in West Nashville Costco's ice cream section. Each pack has four chocolate covered frozen banana slices - tasty, low calorie and fairly healthy.

I've made a similar snack by dipping frozen bananas in melted chocolate chips. The store product is more consistent than my efforts, and bite sized, so easier to eat.

But...homemade is a great way to get rid of excess bananas. This is what I do:

Cut bananas into three inch lengths.
Freeze bananas over night.
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.
Dip the frozen banana pieces in the chocolate.
Refreeze on wax paper. (Can be kind of messy to eat.)

Monday, April 22, 2013

I can't tell exactly where she is, but according to Google translate, she's writing in Japanese about Japan Costco. Also, from Google translate, this is a hobby site not affiliated with Costco.

All the products are unfamiliar to me.

Here's a Google translation about one product:

Previously, buy black vinegar into sauce sesame gold Mitsukan's, it has been used as a sesame of pan and dressing, the shape of the dressing I had been Mottari in mayonnaise like totally there, but the dressing of Kewpie I have a feeling Sarah Innovation with the thickening slightly.

I love how this almost makes sense to me, may have something to do with (I think I might have mentioned) I lived in Japan for three years in the '50's.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Jeff Bauman, the man in the wheelchair in the now famous Boston Marathon bombing photo (the one with the man in a cowboy hat), is a Costco employee.

CostcoToday twitter feed tweeted that Costco will match employee donations to the family's foundation. Other sources on twitter say $300,000 has been raised so far. Jeff Bauman has ordinary medical insurance through Costco, but every penny will help.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Checking out at Costco today, I was behind a man with a cart loaded with all good things - everything I've always wanted at Costco but couldn't justify - black and white cookies, mini lemon cupcakes, tortilla chips, multiple cheeses, every type of berry.

"What are you going to do with all of that?"

He told me it's prom night and the after party is at his house. He is a little worried because he hasn't been given a count of how many kids to expect, but he is pretty sure that he won't run out of food. His bill - $360.

Monday, April 15, 2013

My ex-husband was an Englishman, and due to his influence, I switched from coffee to tea in the late '60s.

Over the years, I've tried different methods of making the necessary hot water: whistling tea kettles, small coffee pots, microwaves. The very best was the instant hot water dispenser in my Brentwood house. The spray-nozzle hole in the sink was converted into an electrified hot water dispenser that worked as a hot water tap - hot water immediately, no waiting.

That lasted a couple years until totally gunked up with the limestone residue so common in middle Tennessee water.

My current, best solution is this electric tea kettle that turns itself off when ready and separates easily from the base for pouring. Purchased at Costco.

Monday, April 8, 2013

My ex-mother-in-law filled the sugar bowl with turbinado at Christmas; it always seems festive to me. In cooking, the flavor is somewhere between white sugar and brown sugar. I'm pretty sure it improved the carrot cake.

After Internet surfing about turbinado sugar, I understand that the liquid from the pressing of sugar cane is spun in a turbine to produce crystals - thus turbinado.

At our house we hardly use any sugar. Even though I'll be using turbinado in place of white and brown, this will last a long long time.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Some people plan every facet of a trip, some people are delightfully spontaneous, and some people stumble into places not knowing where they are.

Which is what happened to me when I found myself a member of Nashville Food Bloggers. Membership has three requirements, you have to live around Nashville, you have to have a blog, you have to have written about food. Check, check, check. They accepted me, so I randomly picked a couple members' blogs to read.

Oops! These people are impressive cookbook authors and restaurant critics!

I began to fantasize what it would take for me to up my game to a professional level - the massive amounts of carrots it would take to truly perfect the carrot cake recipe and not just say, "next time I would add less sugar." I could see my tiny kitchen overflowing with carrot cakes. For some reason I kept thinking of Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate shop.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

I admit to a challenge using the 800 million carrots I end up with when I buy carrots at Costco. My most recent attempt at a solution was carrot cake. I modified a standard carrot cake recipe found online.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Tutu dresses are a phenomenon new to me. I'm pretty sure these are part of the current princess meme (again, maybe I mean trope).

These dresses fall somewhere between a t-shirt and ball gown - stretchy, pulled over the head, but embellished by chiffon and lace.

With a sufficiently gullible three year old, a granny could claim one of these is a princess costume. And a sufficiently unscrupulous granny could even claim the costume is that of a certain Arabian princess that wears blue.

Monday, April 1, 2013

I went out to dinner last night to celebrate birthdays of two women friends.

For the past twenty years, most birthday cards in our crowd have been insulting. If the cards weren't about wrinkles and body parts drooping, they were about letching over semi-naked young men. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Now, I'm so old that insulting cards aren't funny to me any more. I've switched back to the nice, pretty, innocuous ones. Costco usually has beautiful handmade cards.

The ones in the photo are by Burgoyne; I don't think you can see the detail but the cards are three dimensional.